Cydia Mac App Store alternative due in just a few weeks time

Just as the official Apple App Store for iOS has an unofficial Cydia counterpart, so will the Mac App Store, according to Cydia developer Jay "saurik" Freeman. Speaking at the 360|MacDev conference late last week, Freeman confirmed that a Mac-based version of Cydia should be available within a few weeks. Unlike Apple's official software store for OS X machines, Cydia won't have limits on things like in-app payments.

Freeman claims that approximately 10-percent of all iPhone users already use Cydia, working out to around 10m devices in all. He also predicts that Apple's "draconian" policies on development will see more and more developers looking elsewhere for software distribution, especially when the limitations applied to the iOS range begin to transition to the hitherto more flexible OS X environment. Apple's official Mac App Store isn't expected to launch until early in 2011.